Many agricultural formulations contain water soluble salts. These salts, often alkylamine salts, are generally not as active as their acid equivalents. For example, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D acid) is known to be more herbicidally active than the dimethylamine salt of 2, 4-D. However, the 2, 4-D acid is not soluble in water. Solvents used to formulate, 2,4-D acid are known to be phytotoxic to plants and enhance herbicide volatility and subsequent drift to non-target areas. In another example, boron is known to be available to plants only in the boric acid form. However, boric acid is only soluble at relatively low concentrations in water, while the monoethanolamine salt of boric acid is known to be much more soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,609 issued to Ott, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, discusses the means of producing just such a water soluble concentrate of boric acid and monothanolamine. The disadvantage is that the plants must convert this boric acid monoethanolamine complex to boric acid in order to use it. Furthermore, boron is often applied in conjunction with a variety of agricultural pesticides which are subject to degradation at high pH ranges. The boric acid monothanolamine salt produces high pH solutions and therefore is detrimental to many pesticides.
Fattyamine ethoxylates have been known to be used in agricultural formulations in the past. Specifically, tallowamine ethoxylate surfactant is known to enhance glyphosate activity and translocation.
Phosphate esters of alkylphenolethoxylate and alcohol ethoxylates have been used in agriculture traditionally as buffering agents and compatibility agents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,694 assigned to Kao Corp., which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes the use of phosphate esters to suspend a water insoluble biocide. However, Kao does not discuss the pH as a relevant factor in solubility, and further does not address water soluble compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,562 assigned to Monsanto Company, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes the use of phosphate esters to couple the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate into the water insoluble 2-haloacetanilide herbicide. Again, pH is not a relevant factor and this patent does not address the use of other pesticides than glyphosate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,598 assigned to Monsanto Company, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes a storage stable aqueous composition containing
(a) water-soluble pesticide or plant growth modifying agent, PA1 (b) an alkylamine surfactant, PA1 (c) a C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated or unsaturated alkyl monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acid PA1 (d) and water.
The third ingredient (c) C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated or unsaturated alkyl monocarboxylic or dicarboxylic acid is essential and must be present in a ratio alkoxylated alkylamine surfactant to C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated alkyl mono or dicarboxylic acid from at least about 2:1. Our invention works with none, essentially none or even a low ratio less than 2:1 such as 1:1 or less of amine to mono-or dicarboxlic acid. Preferably, there is essentially none or even no C.sub.6 -C.sub.22 saturated alkyl mono or dicarboxylic acid present. Furthermore, this patent requires the use of acetylenic diol surfactants which are not required by this invention. In fact, this invention works without any acetylenic diol surfactants being present or essentially no acetylenic diol surfactants being present.